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Report Recommends RuPay Push in Rural Areas
The Department of Financial Services released the “Socio-Economic Impact Analysis of Incentive Scheme for Promotion of RuPay Debit Card and low-value BHIM-UPI Transactions” at Chintan Shivir 2026. The report evaluates the impact of incentives on digital payment adoption.
Socio-Economic Impact Analysis of RuPay Debit Card and BHIM-UPI Incentive Scheme:
| Dimension | Key Details |
|---|---|
| Released by | Department of Financial Services under Ministry of Finance |
| Conducted by | Independent third-party research agency in consultation with National Payments Corporation of India |
| Objective | Provides for accelerating universal adoption of digital payments reducing dependence on cash and formalising routine economic activity |
| Digital Transactions Growth | Digital transactions increased nearly 11 times between 2021 and 2025 with UPI share reaching about 80 % |
| Coverage | Comprises more than 10000 respondents across 15 States in 5 zones North South East West North East |
| User Preference | UPI preferred by 57 % users compared to 38 % preferring cash |
| Transaction Behaviour | 65 % UPI users reported multiple digital transactions per day |
| Youth Adoption | 66 % adoption in 18 to 25 age group |
| User Confidence | 90 % users reported increased confidence in digital payments |
| Adoption Drivers | 52 % motivated by cashback incentives and 74 percent cited speed as main advantage |
| Merchant Adoption | 94 % small merchants adopted UPI with 72 percent satisfied and 57 percent reporting increased sales |
| Bank Participation | Banks on UPI increased from 216 in 2021 to 661 in 2025 |
| Behavioural Shift | Decline in low denomination currency usage and ATM withdrawals observed |